The Fool's Journey
by Masquerade534
Summary: Akira Kurusu, a once normal high school student, caught up in events he couldn't bring himself to ignore, now is being transferred to a school in Tokyo, where if he wishes to make it through his probation he must keep his head down, and listen to the authorities. As if that was ever going to happen... (This is a rewriting of the game)
1. Chapter 1

The Fool's Journey

Chapter One

Coffee, Curry, and the Delinquent

?/?/?

" _Can you hear me? It seems you've been through a lot."_

" _Almost anything can happen here, and I can't stop them."_

" _That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time either."_

" _What was your objective?"_

" _Why did you cause such a major incident?"_

" _I didn't think it was a prank from the get-go but I couldn't assemble a case for prosecution."_

" _It's because I couldn't figure out the method behind it."_

" _ **Of course you couldn't..."**_

4/9/20XX

Day of Arrival

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly; this is the last stop for this…" Akira Kurusu snapped back into consciousness, not quite startled but definitely shaken. He had been dreaming about it again, a woman crying in the night, a man's drunken slurs, police lights blinding him, handcuffs restricting blood flow, and then-

 _Quit thinking about it._ Akira rubbed his eyes and shook his thoughts from his head. _I can't change it now anyways, quit stressing yourself out._

The train rolled into its station, and Akira, more than eager to get up and further escape his frame of mind, bolted from the train and into the crowded station. It was more packed than he expected, but he squeezed his way through the crowd, and up the escalator out of the stop. Stepping outside however was plain overwhelming. _Holy shit that's a lot of people…_ His breath hitched.

His hometown wasn't quite your cliché "everyone knows everyone" towns, but it was far from this size. The station square, between the high rise buildings, had a large open area with crosswalks and more people than Akira might have ever seen in one place in his life outside of some social gathering. The sound of miscellaneous conversations and foot steps and cars made up the bustling background noise of the city.

*Ping!* The noise from his phone yanked him from his thoughts; a red eye icon had appeared on his screen. _The heck is this?_ He thought as he began tapping on it for some sort of response. _Why isn't it- what the..?_

All noise, all movement, everything had frozen.

People stilled mid step, faces contorted as they went to speak, but no noise came out. A nearby child's ice cream cone floated in mid air as they had seemingly dropped it. Startled, Akira scanned his surroundings, looking for something to hint as to what was happening, some sense of what was going on. His hint didn't come however; all he received was more confusion when a pillar of blue fire burst out ahead of him. Gleam evident in his glasses. The blazing blue pillar slimmed in shape, and sprouted two protrusions near the center, almost as if it obtained a human like shape. Then, as suddenly as it happened, it disappeared. The fire faded and the surrounding noise and motion resumed. _What the actual hell was that?!_ Akira internally screamed, and the panic must have shown on his face because a man in a suit gave him a concerned look as he passed by.

After taking a moment to regain his composure, and convince himself that he was just having some freaky, hunger induced, hallucination, he walked back into the next station entrance and hopped on the subway to Yongen Jaya.

 _So his house is somewhere in the back alley…_ Akira thought to himself as he stepped into the back, narrow, street of Yongen. He searched for the house of his supposed guardian for the next year, Sojiro Sakura, a friend of a friend of his father. Frankly he didn't enjoy that he was going to be watched by someone whom his father didn't even personally know, but it was either that or Juvenile Hall, and Akira knew that, that was far from a preferable alternative.

 _I guess all I can do is hope he believes what my father told him…_ If this Sojiro didn't believe his father when he said Akira was innocent, this entire year would be tens of times harder than it was already bound to be. He already has to deal with adapting to city life, but also going to a school where the staff knows of his record, and unlike his guardian, with them they hadn't gotten the knowledge that he was actually falsely accused. All the school saw was an assault charge, the only reason he's allowed in, in the first place is that they think "reforming" a criminal would be good for their reputation.

Akira rang the bell and waited. Then rang it again, and waited. Then again, and waited… _He's supposed to be here, he knew I was coming._ Akira rang yet again, and waited. _I swear to god if he's in there and just screwing with me right now._ He thought, annoyed.

"Why are you loitering outside this house?" A stern voice called to him from a little ways down the side alley. Akira turned to see an officer approaching him, and instantly grew rigid.

"Am I not allowed to be here? This is public property after all." Akira said firmly, yet made sure to not sound too disrespectful; he already knew the police weren't always fair…

"I didn't say you weren't allowed to be here, I asked why you were here." The cop replied, annoyed at the dodging of the question.

"I'm supposed to be meeting with Sakura-san; I was given this address and told he would be here. Which evidently he isn't…"

"Sakura-San owns the café back down the alley; he's almost never home at this time."

 _Would have been nice to know ahead of time but noooo, that would have made too much sense._ He thought to himself, "Thank you."

The officer waved him off and he started towards the café, as soon as the man was out of earshot Akira breathed just a bit easier. He felt stupid for being worried, but his last "encounter" gave him trust issues with the local law enforcement.

"Coffee and Curry, Café Leblanc," Akira read aloud, "That's an… odd combination?" He twisted the knob of the door and stepped inside. A row of booths lined the left wall where an elderly couple sat, and a barista counter lined the right where a man in a pink button up and apron sat. In less than a second of being in the café, the smell of the food hit him. _It may sound weird but ohmygoddoesitsmellgoodthough-_ His sleeping, empty stomach woke up at the tantalizing scent, and immediately it growled almost loud enough to drown out the television in the back, almost…

"A public transit bus was driving down the opposing lane today, multiple people were injured, and the driver was arrested at the scene."

"Oh my… these sorts of things have been happening a lot lately…" The elderly woman sounded concerned as she discussed the event with her husband.

Akira stepped forward to the man with the apron, "Sakura-san?"

He glanced up quizzically, "So you're the guy huh? Well, they did say that was today." He paused, "I was told you'd be here in the morning, it's after three, what took you so long?" The man looked disapprovingly.

"The trains took a lot longer than we thought, and I may have spent the last ten minutes standing in front of your house ringing the bell, thinking you were home." He sheepishly said.

"Yeah well I was home this morning." He sighed annoyed. "I wasn't exactly going to stick around for your sorry hide at the cost of not opening up the café."

"Yeah well I didn't even know you had a café." Akira said deadpan.

"Whatever, anyways, follow me; I'll show you your room for the year."

"What happened to not wanting to have the café closed?"

"Who said your room was in my house?"

 _Oh son of a-_

 _It won't be so bad in Tokyo he said, you'll have fun he said, well sorry dad, but cleaning up an attic that I'm pretty sure violates this cafés health regulations just to make it livable for the next year DOES NOT SOUND FUN._

Akira had a pile of four or five trash bags in the corner of the attic, a large pile of dirt from sweeping, and enough dust in the vacuum he found to make a dustman.

"Kid, the hell's with all the noise?" Sojiro called from the bottom of the stairs, prepared to chew out the delinquent for all the unnecessary noise in the middle of business hour. "I'm running a business you know."

"Trust me; I'm doing you a favor." Akira called back down. At that Sojiro started coming up.

"What do you-?" The café owner paused when he saw the room, it had gone from cluttered with stacks and stacks of books and useless knick-knacks to decently organized, dust free, and having a lot more floor space. Hell, he even dug out the old plant and watered it. "When I heard the noise I didn't think you'd be cleaning." He caught on to the surprise in his face and hid it. "Well uh, I guess it's only natural you'd want to keep your room clean."

"I'm surprised you hadn't cleaned up here sooner." Akira smacks one of the pillows he had yet to dust and coughed when a cloud of said dust came out. "Agh, I'm pretty sure this is a health code violation." He waved the cloud away.

"Is there an issue?" Sojiro narrowed his eyes.

"Well I mean, not anymore." Akira smirked. "The problem is in those trash bags, and that vacuum cleaner."

"Ugh, forget it." The café owner sighed, not willing to deal with the kids shit. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about the situation you're in, I didn't have much time before."

 _And this is the part I've been loathing all day._ Akira felt disheartened, even if he didn't let it show. "What exactly about it Sakura-san..?"

"Your father explained your record to me for one thing."

Akira sprang up, as if writhing at the mention of the charge. "So… you know it was a false charge right?" A pleading tone was present in his voice. "All I was doing was protect-"

"Kid, I don't really care." Sojiro interjected sternly. "As far as I'm concerned, you're a troublemaker and your dad threw you out for being a pain in the ass."

 _O-oh…_

"And furthermore, if you cause any trouble, I won't hesitate to throw you out of here if you go causing me trouble."

Dejected. That was the word for what Akira was feeling right now. Dejected.

"I uh… I understand." Akira hid the sadness in his words.

"Good." Sojiro frowned. "Anyways, you should be getting to bed soon. I'm taking you to the school for introductions in the morning."

"Right… Yeah, the school." He paused. "I'll just take these to the dumpster and then get ready for bed then..." At that, before Sojiro could say anything else, Akira grabbed as much of the trash as possible and bolted for the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

The Fool's Journey

Chapter Two

Walls Adorned in Blue

4/9/20XX

What Happened That Night

 _I'm not sure what else I expected._ Akira had set his glasses on the windowsill and rubbed his eyes. _Of course he doesn't give a shit._ He allowed himself to fall backwards onto the bed with a loud sigh. He fell into his mind.

?/?/?

The night was quiet, the air marched with a slight breeze, and Akira Kurusu trotted along the road to his home. His friend's mother came home sooner than expected, and unsurprisingly she didn't want guests over, so he had to go home early. Little did he know that it would only be the start of his misfortune that night.

"Let me go!" Akira's head jerked towards the source of the voice, it was down a side street he was passing. _What the hell's happening?_ He started towards the voice without hesitation.

"Someone help me!" Akira rounded the corner and saw in the distance a large man, gripping her wrist as she struggles against him, terror was present in her eyes. Akira ran towards them.

"Get lost kid. This ain't a show!" The man glanced over his shoulder at Akira before gripping the woman's wrist tighter and mumbling some incomprehensible drunken slur. The woman shot a terrified look at the teen but said no words; clearly whatever he said was a threat.

"Get the hell off of her!"

4/9/20XX

 _Quit thinking about it. It won't help you so just stop it._ Akira internally berated himself. _I just… I just need to get some rest._ He rolled over and pulled the blanket over himself. _Yeah… rest…_ He drifted off to sleep…

 _Why the hell are the walls blue?_ Akira shot up, startled. He looked around and realized the walls weren't the only thing that changed. _What the absolute shit!?_ He was in a prison cell, resting on a stone bed, in a black and white striped prison uniform, with shackles on his wrists, and surrounded by velvet blue walls. The strangest the however, was the two little girls standing at the entrance. One with a braid and a clip board, the other with two buns and a baton, both with eye patches on opposite eyes.

The two girls in prison guard uniforms stepped aside, and Akira saw an old man, with a nose the length of a ruler, sitting in a desk in the center of a circle of what seemed to be other cells.

Wordlessly he had gotten up and walked to the cell door, apparently a ball and chain was also around his ankle. _What the fuck is this?_

"Trickster, welcome to my Velvet Room." The long nosed man's voice echoed throughout the chamber of cells.

"So you've finally come to, inmate!" The girl with the buns said, seemingly annoyed.

"I'm not an inmate, what the hell is this place?"

"This, Trickster, is my Velvet Room." The man interjected with a wicked smile and something about that statement contorted Akira's stomach. "It is a place between dream and reality, mind and matter."

 _Wow, that shed just so much light on this situation, like honestly; so many questions have been answered._ Akira thought. "Okay… Why am I here?"

"It would seem you've been bonded by a contract." The man chuckled. "My name is Igor, I'm the master of this place, and I've summoned you to speak on important matters; they involve your life as well."

"We can talk about whatever you want when you let me out of this cell." Akira deadpanned with a glare.

"Show some respect inmate!" The girl with the baton struck the bars hard, jolts of electricity shot out, stinging Akira's hand.

"You are speaking with our master. We will not tolerate this disrespect." The girl with the clip board said.

"I don't care if he's your master!" Akira started before Igor spoke again in his booming voice, interrupting him.

"This is a surprise…" Igor glanced around the room, "The state of this room reflects the state of your heart. To think it would take this form…" He chuckled. "My, my, you truly are a prisoner of fate." Akira silenced at that statement, feeling uneasy. "There is no doubt that ruin awaits you in the near future." He paused yet again, letting his words hang in the air. "No, no, no… You must be rehabilitated, rehabilitated towards freedom. That my Trickster is your only means to avoid ruin."

"What 'ruin' is coming, and why do you know so much about it?"

"You will know in time Trickster, now, do you have what it takes to challenge the distortion of the world."

"I don't see much of a choice, if I don't go along with what you say, I'll die. Or that's how you make it sound anyway."

"I assure you, more than your life is on the line."

"Then I suppose I'd rather avoid ruin."

"Haha, very well, allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation." The twins retook their positions in front of the cell. "Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others." He gestured to the baton wielding girl. "To your right is Caroline;" Igor then gestured to the braided girl. "To your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."

"You can struggle as hard as you'd like inmate!" A wicked smile appeared on Caroline's face as she brandished her baton.

"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators. That is, if you remain obedient." Justine shot the teen a deadly serious look.

"I shall explain the roles for these two, at another occasion. Now then, it seems the night is waning… It is almost time. Take your time to slowly understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually…" Igor waves, just as multiple alarms go off. "Rest well Trickster…"

4/10/20XX

Day of Introduction

"To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems." The no necked principal scowled at Akira. "Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were some circumstances on our side." The principal's scowl turned into a condescending and smug look, as if even allowing the teen in the building was a favor. _Quit looking at me like that damn it._ Akira thought. "You might have done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind." The man turned to a lady with bushy, dark brown hair, a yellow shirt and jean skirt. She had been silent up until this point, seeming reluctant towards the entire situation. "This is the teacher in charge of your class."

"I'm Sadayo Kawakami." She passed the frizzy headed boy a card. "Here's your student I.D" Her voice clearly conveyed that she wanted nothing to do with him. "Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office." She paused. "And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all. That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?"

"He is responsible for all his actions."

"But really though, why me…? There should've been better candidates." Kawakami pouted.

"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening." The Principal sighed.

 _Would you people quit talking about me like I'm not standing right here?!_

"If we're done here, I have a store to get back to." Sojiro interrupted the two, and although Akira would never know, it was mainly because he didn't like that they were talking about the kid like he wasn't there.

"Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on him." The triple chinned man gave Akira a dirty look. "Don't let him cause any trouble outside…"

"I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he's in." No one saw but Sojiro rolled his eyes, knowing that they already had talked, at length.

Kawakami sighed, "Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom."

The pair stepped outside and began to leave, stopping in front of the exit to the school. Sojiro let out a breath of exhausted air. "They're treating you like some kinda nuisance."

"And here I was, expecting to be welcomed with open arms." Akira responded sarcastically, tone of his voice not quite conveying just how defeated he felt towards situation.

"That's what happens when you have a record I guess, it follows you." Sojiro stated sternly, "All the more reason to behave well over the next year."

"Trust me Sojiro-san; I have no intentions of stepping out of line."

"Good, because if you cause me any trouble I'll throw you out." With that said, Akira sighed and they headed to the car.

"Traffic's not moving at all!" Sojiro said through grit teeth, causing Akira to wonder if he was the road rage sort of person. "You're taking the train starting tomorrow." The man shook his head as more brake lights lit up in the distance. "Anyways, you think you can manage, with the school I mean?"

"I don't have much of a choice unless I wanna wind up in Juvie." The teen sighed.

"At least you understand your situation." Sojiro shifted in his seat. "God, what a troublesome kid I've taken in."

"Speaking of which, why did you take me in?" Akira's question lingered in the air, all of the sudden making the atmosphere much heavier and uncomfortable. Sojiro actively squirmed at the inquisition.

"I was asked to do it, and I just… happened to agree to it." The cafe owner fidgeted his hat. "I've already been paid for it too, after all." At that Akira smiled.

 _Liar._ He thought. _Maybe Sakura-san was kinder than he let on..._


	3. Chapter 3

The Fool's Journey

Chapter Three

Pillager of Twilight

4/11/20XX

First Day of School

Akira had sluggishly crawled out of bed, changed from his sweatpants and into the black and red plaid that Shujin academy required, along with pulling the accompanying white polo shirt and blazer over his slim form before trotting downstairs.

"Good to see you actually plan on going to school today; less trouble for me." Sojiro wasn't going to force the kid to do anything, if he wanted to screw himself and his future over then that was his choice, although it was nice to see the kid at least seemed to take this all seriously. "This is for you." Sojiro slid a plate of curry his way on the counter.

"School's already going to be hell as it is, I don't plan on making it worse." Akira thanked the café owner and dug into the plate, the tantalizing smell it gave off two days ago upon his first entry into the café didn't lie, it was every bit as good as it smelled.

A few moments passed in silence as Sojiro washed the dishes he used to make the kid breakfast, and said kid dug into it ravenously.

"Thank you for breakfast Sakura-san."

"Sojiro, not Sakura, I'm your guardian, not some higher up." The old man glanced back at Akira before continuing his work on the dishes. "If you're going to be living here you might as well use my first name."

 _Thank god._ Akira internally sighed from relief. He was afraid he'd have to stiffly say 'Sakura-san' for the rest of the year. "Understood, Sojiro-san." He gave a half smile before handing the man his plate, grabbing his bag, and heading out the door.

 _Rain_. As Akira stepped out of the subway he was overtaken by the calming sound of the rain, easing his nerves further as the smell of it hit him. _It's a slightly different smell sure, but the rain will never not be amazing._ He thought to himself. The rainfall only caught his eyes for a second though, as something, or rather, someone else stole his attention.

Long, ashy blond twin pigtails, sparkling blue eyes, rivaling the blue of the clearest of lakes, and a slim yet 'busty' figure, hidden by a hoodie, that was what the girl that had walked up next to Akira looked like. _Holy sh-_

She looked over at him and gave him a sideways smile before glancing over to the rain with a concerned look, as if it was some major setback.

As they stood there staring at the raindrops, a silver car pulled up to the curb in front of them, rolled down its window, and exposed the jumpsuit clad man driving it. He gave them a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Morning, need a ride? You're gonna be late."

"Um sure, thank you." The girl stepped into his car, not quite making eye contact with the man.

"Do you need a lift too?" The man's look changed, as if he was only asking out of courtesy rather than actual good will. _I'd love to say yes just to annoy him, but I'm not passing up on the rain._ At that Akira shook his head no, and as the two drove off, the girl looked at the dashboard downcast.

"Hey wait!" A blond boy ran up to where the car used to be. "Dammit! Screw that pervy teacher." He caught his breath and stared lividly at where the car was sat a moment ago.

"Pervy teacher?" Akira mused out loud in confusion. It was obvious that his kindness in offering a ride was obligatory rather than genuine but was he really pervy? Apparently the blond thought so because at the question he got defensive, or rather defensively offensive.

"...What d'you want? You plannin' on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?"

"Who's Kamoshida?" Akira looked perplexed; so far he hadn't heard the name. He assumed it was someone from the school of course but he was unsure who it might be.

"Huh? In that car just now, it was Kamoshida." The blondie seemed defused due to the confusion, although not completely.

"Oh, him?" Was all Akira replied with.

"Heh, yeah, he does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is-the king of a castle? Don't you agree?" He wasn't nearly as aggressive anymore, although his malice towards this Kamoshida was abundantly evident.

"Dunno, never met the guy before today." The teen scratched his neck, giving the boy a disarming smile.

"...Wait. You don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real?" He silently chuckled to himself, "You're from Shujin right?"

"I'm a transfer, it's my first day."

The blondie examined his uniform, "A second-year huh? We're in the same grade then." He turned, "C'mon, let's get goin' 'fore the rain picks up again." Not more than two steps later Akira's head felt like it got hit by a brick. The boy stopped too. "Uuuugh, my head hurts…" He sighed, "Dammit… I wanna go home…"

The two began to weave through an alley; the rain had started pooling into large puddles. It felt all of the sudden as if Akira's steps were lighter for some reason. He paused to look back when the blondie let out a gasp up ahead.

Exiting the alley, a huge stone castle with windows of stained glass and grand wooden doors stood in front of them, and all of the sudden the peaceful rainy atmosphere had turned to an oppressive darkness.

"But we didn't take a wrong turn though…" the blondie trailed off in thought.

"The sign says Shujin Academy." Akira deadpanned whilst internally screaming. _I am so tired of all of this supernatural shit I swear to god._ "Is this not it?" He prayed it was but knew it wasn't.

"Dude what the hell kind of school did you used to go to where you think that THIS could be normal?" The blond looked at him crazily.

"If given the choice between a normal high school and a castle what would you pick then?" Akira narrowed his eyes, though there was no real threat in his look.

"Whatever." The blond sighed. "Dammit, guess we have to go in and ask someone what the eff this is then." At that Akira nodded in agreement and the two went into the castle.

They found themselves in a giant stone entrance hall, with a red carpet leading up a staircase that split in two with a large podium at the top and an even larger grotesque painting of a man in a pink Speedo. _CAN NOTHING JUST BE NORMAL?!_ Akira once again internally screamed.

Before anyone got the chance to speak they heard metallic footsteps approaching them from the corner of the room. A bulky suit of armor wearing a mask approached them with a large sword and shield in tow.

"Jeez, you freaked me out. Who're you? A student?" He walked to the man, "Damn, your costume's impressive… Is that real armor?" He knocked on the metal suit, the clang sounding very real. The person stood silent and stared at him however. "C'mon, don't just stand there. Say somethin'."

Another armor clad figure approached, although this one seemed more hostile. "Dude, I don't think this is the school…" Akira said quietly. The two figures closed in on the teens. "I think we should go…"

"Right behind you man…" Ryuji turned on his heel but found that two more of the knights stood behind them, closing in further. The first one they saw smacked the blond with his shield, causing him to go down.

"What the hell!" Akira clenched his fist but before he could swing he felt a hard impact and then the sudden, all encompassing, darkness.

"C'mon man you gotta get up!" Akira was being violently shaken back and forth, the sleep draining from his head.

"Dammit I'm up!" Akira growled annoyed, there was a throbbing pain in his head.

"Sorry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, my head just hurts, sorry for snapping at you." He rubbed his head with a groan. "What about you?"

"Pissed but alive, so I guess I can't really complain…"

"Oh trust me there's plenty to complain about here." Akira's voice was dead as he realized they were in a cell. _Not again._

"Ugh, what's goin' on!?" He said, walking forward and angrily banging against the steel bars. "Hey, let us outta here! I know there's someone out there!" When no one answered he got even angrier. "Dammit, where are we!? Is this some kinda TV set…?"

A bellowing scream was heard in the distance, followed by another, and then another, before the silence resumed. "The hell was that?!" The boy sounded worried, which given all things was understandable.

"I don't know but I'd rather not find out." Akira began to look around the cell for something he could use. Anything. All he found however was an abundance of chains and barrels, nothing that could aid in their escape.

"Dude, you hear that?" The blonde teen went quiet as metallic footsteps made their way towards them. "Shitshitshit! Dude hurry and find something!"

"There isn't much to work with in here!" Akira scrambled for something sharp to use as a weapon but there was nothing.

Two of the armor clad assailants walked towards the cell door. "Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon." It stood outside the cell; Akira looked at its mask, only to see nothing behind the holes for the eyes. "Your charge is "unlawful entry. Thus, you will be sentenced to death."

"What the hell?!" The blonde exclaimed, clinging to the bars.

A familiar voice spoke from behind the masked men. "No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle."

"K-kamoshida?!" The surprise in the teens voice was evident, however, as the boy had his realization, Akira internally gagged as he once again saw the skin tight pink underwear, Kamoshida's grotesque hairy legs that weren't covered well by his red velvet cape only worsened the image.

"I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you Sakamoto…" Kamoshida's eyes were a bright, glowing, yellow. "Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh?" The man readjusted the tiny crown atop his head, gazing at Akira. "And you brought a friend this time… because you can't do anything for yourself."

"Says the guy who stuck four guards on us just for walking in." Akira replied coldly, putting on the bravest face he could to hide his internal panic. Before Kamoshida responded, Sakamoto butt in.

"This isn't funny you asshole!"

"Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all." The man scowled. "Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me-the king." He smirked. "The punishment for that is death." Kamoshida shouted. "It's time for an execution! Take him out!"

"S-stop it…" The two teens backed away as the guards poured into the small cell. They hit the wall. "Goddammit…!" Pushing off of the wall, Sakamoto bashed into one of the men, cleanly knocking them down. "I ain't down for this shit!" Was all he could get out before being knocked back by one of the others, the blonde joined the man on the floor. "Get outta here man! These guys are serious!" He struggled to say it between breaths.

"Go ahead, leave now and I won't stop you, but just know, _I'm going to take my time with him…_ " Akira merely scowled at the man and back-stepped into the wall.

"Don't listen to him, just hurry up and go!" Sakamoto was practically begging at this point, Akira couldn't force himself to move, be it to run away or fight, he was frozen, petrified, due to his own cowardice.

"What's the matter? Too scared to run away?" Kamoshida stared down at the squirming blonde, "Hmph, pathetic scum isn't worth my time… I'll focus on this one's execution first." The guards hoisted Sakamoto up by his shoulders, almost picking him up off the ground, presenting him to their twisted king. Two guards held out their swords to keep Akira from moving, should he work up the courage.

"Take this!" Kamoshida reeled back his fist before colliding it with the blonde's face, causing him to hold back a shout of pain. "Lowly scum!" A strong punch collided with the boy's stomach, causing him to keel over. At least it would have had he not been held up, solely for another crack to the face. "Useless pest!" A swift crack to his cheekbone, whipping his head to the side caused Sakamoto to choke on his own spit as he squirmed. The guards dropped him, allowing him to curl up on the floor.

Kamoshida spit on the writhing boy, he could do nothing but stare at the man. "Hehehehe, where'd your energy from earlier go?" A guard grabbed him by the collar, tossing him forward; luckily he protected his head from the impact with the ground. "A peasant like you isn't worth beating. I'm going to have you killed now, Sakamoto." The twisted glee in which he spoke sent chills down Akira's spine, triggering tinges of fear and anger within the teen.

"Stop it!" Akira yelled at the man as he approached the blonde.

"Hm?" Kamoshida's cold yellow eyes blazing into Akira's "What…? Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am?" The mad king walked towards the boy, twisted thoughts dancing across his eyes. The teen stared the man down, hate and anger evident behind the glasses. Kamoshida scowled. "That look in your eyes irritates me!" He kicked Akira against the wall, and as the pain set in he sunk down. "Hold him there… After the peasant, it's his turn to die." The man turned back to Sakamoto.

Akira shot to his feet and charged at the twisted man. "Bastard!" He shouted, before getting grabbed by the shoulders and pinned to the wall by two guards and struggle as he might, he could not break free.

"Patience, your death will be soon enough." Kamoshida snarled back to Akira as he kneeled in front of Sakamoto.

"No I don't wanna die!" Sakamoto said between sobs, looking up at the crazed king, who merely laughed wickedly in response.

As Akira was pinned to the wall, a mental image of a sparkling blue butterfly flew in front of him. A feminine voice rang in his ears. _"This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…"_ The butterfly flew away and Akira was snapped back into reality, the remaining two guards pinning Sakamoto to the wall opposite him.

 _"_ _What's the matter…? Are you simply going to watch?"_ A wicked voice quipped in his head. Akira's eyes shot open wide. _I'm not strong enough to help!_

 _"_ _Are you forsaking him to save yourself?"_ Akira's head whipped around, a pain began to set in, ice ran through his veins and every part of him trembled in seething fury. _No._

 _"_ _Death awaits him if you do nothing."_ Tears reached Akira's eyes.

 _"_ _Was your previous decision a mistake then?"_ Images of a woman crying out for help flashed through the teens head.

 ** _"_** ** _No."_**

A guard pulled Sakamoto up higher on the wall and held its sword high, at neck level.

 _"_ _Very well… I have heeded your resolve."_ The pain multiplied, it felt as though someone had forced a screwdriver through his skull and twisted it. He shouted in pain as it continued to grow in strength.

 _"_ _Vow to me…"_

 _"_ _I am thou, thou art I…"_

 _"_ _Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!"_

 _"_ _Call upon my name, and release thy rage!"_

A blood curdling scream left Akira, as sweat ran down his face, the pain was so immense he thought he might die right then.

 _"_ _Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"_

"Execute him!" Kamoshida yelled.

 ** _"_** ** _That's enough!"_** Akira shouted with all his might at the sickeningly diluted man, his eyes seething with a rage he had never felt before, his mind flooded with the violent thoughts of how this man would pay.

"What was that…?" The guard let go of Sakamoto. "You wish to be killed that much? Fine!" A guard struck Akira hard in the face with its shield. His glasses went flying, cracking as they hit the ground, but Akira stood firm the pain much less than before. They pinned him to the wall with spears, as a third guard held a sword to his throat. Sakamoto tried to stand, tried to help, but he could do no more than fall to the floor.

Akira's eyes shot open as a gust of wind shot out, knocking everyone back. A mask was on the teens face, and as he felt it he felt the instinctual need to pull it off, to discard it. So he grasped it and began to tear, ripping mask and skin off his face, but it mattered not. He struggled and finally fully tore it off, blood rushing down his face and onto the floor. His eyes burned a wicked yellow as he gave Kamoshida a devilish grin. Blue flames burst from the ground, swallowing him whole. A wicked face of red flame developed and flew off of the teen, chains wrapping around Akira, he threw them off, and at that moment everyone was blown against the wall. Instantly killing two of the four guards, as Kamoshida ran to the opposite corner.

"Wha… what the…?" Fear resonating from Sakamoto's voice. Akira eyed Kamoshida. He clenched his fists as anger bubbled from deep within. He would stop this.

 ** _"_** ** _Pillager of twilight, Arsene!"_**


	4. Chapter 4

The Fool's Journey

Chapter Four

Return to What Is Real

4/11/20XX

Inside the Castle

"Ravage them Arsene!" Akira yelled, snapping the chains of his spirit and releasing a demonic black winged figure. The black of the wings matching the new outfit Akira wore, with crimson gloves, a gray button up and a black waist coat. "Eiha!" The word came naturally to Akira, as if he had known all along what to do.

Arsene with a wicked laugh let out pillars of darkness at one of the guards, destroying it. _"Monsieur, run wild to your hearts content!"_ The persona called with a twisted joy. With one down Akira, as if off of instinct reached into his coat pocket and drew a knife, turning it over in his hand, a glint of hate in his eyes, he dashed towards the remaining guard and jumped impossibly high off the ground, landing on the soldier whilst cleaving his dagger through its eyehole, he then kicked off of its shoulders, and landed a few feet away from its dissipating corpse.

"God that felt good." The black and white mask reappeared on his face. Akira let out a wicked laugh and shot Kamoshida a threatening glance before walking up to him.

"N-no please!" The disgraced king cried, but before he could continue his begging Akira pressed the blade of his knife against Kamoshida's lips, in a silencing gesture. He then moved to press the tip of the knife just under his chin and forced his head up to look at him.

"You're not worth my time, you pathetic excuse of a man." Malice was present in his voice. "If you ever try to hurt Sakamoto, or I, or anyone else I will find you." Kamoshida went to respond, "Ah ah ah, I didn't give you permission to speak."

Akira, having enough fun threatening the whimpering king, struck him with the handle of the knife in the back of the head, knocking him out. He then stood and moved to help Sakamoto up. "Are you okay?"

"Holy shit." He replied breathlessly. "What the hell was that?!"

"I don't know either, but let's save the finding out for when we get out of this castle." Akira tucked the knife away into his pocket. "Can you run?"

"I can try, just don't go too fast." The blond dusted himself off once he got to his feet and stepped out of the cell.

"You're going to rot in here." Akira said coldly to the king as he picked up the cell keys and slammed it shut. _"Au revoir."_

They had been running through the castle for nearly twenty minutes by now. Kamoshida had clearly been discovered, as guards stormed from corridor to corridor rambling about intruders. Akira and Sakamoto hid behind a stack of crates, just out of sight of the guards. "Dude, can't you take those two? I mean you took out four back in that cell!" The blond whisper shouted.

"I can, but that could draw more attention than we need." _I'm not trying to press our luck, he can't defend himself._

"You should listen to your friend blondie." A strange voice called from behind them. "But first can you please get me out of this cell?"

"WHAT THE-" Akira had clasped a hand over Sakamoto's mouth, but admittedly, he voiced what they both were thinking when they saw the cat like creature with a yellow bandana that stood in front of them, clinging to the bars of its cell.

"Good job loudmouth, you're going to bring every guard on this level down to you!" The cat reprimanded the blond.

"Can you blame me?! What the hell are you, some monster-cat?!"

"My name's Morgana, and I'm not a cat you idiot!"

"Both of you be quiet!" Akira interjected, causing immediate silence. "The guards heard his outburst; they're going to be on top of us soon."

"You have a persona, don't you?" The cat snickered. "I heard the guards mention that some kid summoned a monster and locked the king in a cell." I glint of mischief in his eye, he said, "I have one too, I can help you escape!"

"What, you mean the demon thing that exploded out of him?!"

"Yes, the persona." Morgana gave the blond a narrow eyed look.

"How do we know you ain't lying? I mean, I'm surprised he could do that, not to mention some talking monster cat!"

"Grrr I'm not a cat!" Their bickering stopped when they saw Akira fish the keys from his pocket and unlock the cell door, letting Morgana out. "Good to see you have common sense." The not-cat smiled.

Three guards rounded the corner and took a fighting stance as they spotted the teen duo and their new companion. "You assaulted king Kamoshida! I'll kill you with my own blade!"

"King? Oh trust me, that idiot's barely fit to lick boots." Morgana jumped forward. "Allow me." He smirked back at the two. "Come, Zorro!" A large black figure with a rapier burst forth from the cat, "Garu!" It sliced its rapier across the air and released a torrent of violent winds at one of the guards, ripping it apart.

"Holy shit!" Sakamoto yells out, watching the carnage.

"I can't let myself get shown up now can I?" Akira smirked and drew his knife. "Cleave them Arsene!" The black wings burst forth and ripped through the second of the three guards, the third of which changed forms into that of a pixie, and shot forth a spell towards the cat. Said cat pulled out a comically oversized curved sword, spun past the attack and took a swing at its assailant.

During the attackers attempted dodge, Akira tossed his dagger to restrict its movement backwards, as he called Arsene for yet another physical strike, tearing it asunder. The guards were finished.

"Here, you can get out through this air duct." Morgana shut the door behind them as they walked into a room next to the main hall. "The front door would bring too much attention."

"Thanks Morgana." Akira smiled and pet the fur on his head out of gratefulness. "Are you not coming with?"

"I'm looking for something in the castle. This time I don't plan on getting caught." Morgana walked towards the door. "Oh, and I should tell you, when you get back to the real world, don't engage Kamoshida."

"What? Why the hell not?! And the eff do you mean real world?!" Sakamoto kept his mouth shut on the way to safety, but now he had too many questions.

"This castle, it's how he views the school. The students are his subjects, free to punish as he pleases, with him as the king." The cat frowned. "But this isn't the real world blondie, think of it as us being inside his head. The real him, the one in the real world doesn't even know the castle exists, let alone everything that happened in the past hour."

"I… I think I get it…" The blond sighed, shoulders hunched.

"Alright, stay safe Morgana." Akira cut the tension. "We need to get going."

"Of course," the cat waved them off. "…He seems useful…"

 _"_ _You have returned to the real world."_ Akira's phone rang out; as the two teens stood once again in the alley they entered the castle from, though back at the start.

"Well shit, I guess the cat wasn't lying." Sakamoto mumbled. "WAIT DID THAT JUST COME FROM YOUR PHONE."

Akira once again had to clasp a hand over the mouth of his friend and press him against a wall in the alley. Could he call him that, a friend? _I mean I did save his life after all._ "Look, this mystical bullshit has been happening to me for two days now, it freaks me out too but you can't go yelling every time something like this happens okay?" He whisper shouted at the blond, before slowly taking his hand off.

"Okay, okay… But dude it came from your phone!" He looked like he had seen a ghost.

"This stupid eyeball app keeps showing up and I keep deleting it." He showed him his phone. "And now that I think about it, I had it open before we found the castle. I don't know how it works, and I definitely didn't mean to take us there, so just, chill okay…?" Akira internally trembled, afraid that the blond would dismiss him as insane and try and get away from him as soon as possible.

"O-okay, I believe you." Never before has that statement meant so much to Akira. If only he was permitted to enjoy the feeling…

"What are you two doing outside of school?" A vaguely familiar voice called to the two teens, and upon realizing it was a cop they looked at each other with a joint "ohshit" look before turning to face him. "Oh, I know you… the kid from Yongen." He looked unamused. _That's how I recognized the voice._ Akira thought. "You've graduated from loitering to ditching I see."

"The loitering wasn't a crime, and this is unintentional." Akira quipped. "I'm new to the town and I don't know my way around to save my life, my friend was showing me the way to the school."

"I'll pretend to believe you just to save myself the trouble." The officer rolled his eyes. "Now scram and get to school before I change my mind."

"Yes sir." Akira grabbed Sakamoto's wrist and guided him through the alley and out of sight of the officer.

"Dude, we are so screwed when we get to school." The blond whispered. He was secretly impressed with Akira for being able to handle the situation.

"Oh trust me, I was already screwed, this is just the cherry on top."


	5. Chapter 5

The Fool's Journey

Chapter Five

Welcome to Shujin Academy

4/11/20XX

The First Day

"So, you two finally decided to show up." A man in a gray suit stood at the top of the stairs to the school, a scowl plastered on his face. "Although I'll admit I'm surprised you two being absent was because you decided to ditch together. I had thought it just a coincidence."

"I'm sorry for my absence, I wasn't ditching, I got lost on the subways, and all of the lines were delayed what with the accident yesterday." Akira bowed as a display of his remorse, even if it was faked. "I had called Sakamoto-kun to help me find my way to the school."

"W-what he said." The blond stared wide eyed at Akira while he bowed, surprised at the difference between his earlier behavior and how he's been since they left the castle. "I was just trying to help him out…"

"Regardless of your excuses, you two are still four periods late. This isn't something we can just overlook, especially in your case Sakamoto-kun."

"You seem so carefree Sakamoto." A voice cut in from behind the counselor. "So different from when you used to do morning practice for the track team." Kamoshida stepped forward, causing both of the teens to spring on edge.

"Shut up, it's your fault that I-!"

"How dare you that way to Mr. Kamoshida!" The counselor interjected. "There isn't much leeway left for you at this school Sakamoto, so unless you want to be expelled you need to shape up."

"He's the one that provoked me! He's the reason that-!"

"Sakamoto-kun." Akira placed a hand on his shoulder and shot him an understanding look. "Now isn't the time."

"S-sorry… you're right man." Ryuji looked down, embarrassed.

"Look either way, you need to explain yourself Sakamoto, come with me." The counselor turned to walk away, and the blond looked at Akira and mouthed an apology before walking away.

Akira took a step up the stairs but then Kamoshida's voice rang out. "Have we met somewhere…?" He looked at the teen as if he knew him from his distant past but couldn't seem to place a finger on how exactly he knew him.

"You offered me a ride this morning." Akira shot the man a disapproving look, before continuing in a dead voice. "In retrospect I should've accepted your offer."

"Oh, yeah, that's right… I remember now." Kamoshida looked slightly relieved. "Well anyways, I'll overlook this just for today." His voice went from easy to deadly serious. "I'm sure you've already heard from the principle, but cause any trouble and we'll have no issue kicking you out. You understand?"

Akira pushed his glasses up higher on his face, a slight glint reflecting off them. "The principle, you, my guardian, Ms. Kawakami indirectly, yeah, I've already heard it." Akira began to walk past the man. "Well personally, for my sake I hope you're willing to overlook more." He gave a look of animosity as he passed him.

"If that's a joke then I'm not laughing."

"Guess you'll figure out if it's a joke or not soon enough." Akira pulled open the door to the school. "I should be going." Before Kamoshida could reply he shut the door behind him.

 _Little piece of shit._ Kamoshida thought.

"Fourth period just ended, how are you this late?" Kawakami said incredulously.

"Well about that…" Akira trailed off to look for an excuse "With the train delays and me not really knowing my way around the subway system as is, I got EXTREMELY lost."

"You were here yesterday." Kawakami deadpanned.

"We drove…" Akira trailed off yet again. _Please believe me I don't have any other excuses._

"Fine, I'll choose to believe you." Akira sadly couldn't bring himself to be happy about it, because of what he knew would be coming next. "Anyways, come with me, we'll introduce you to the class." _And that right there is the last thing I wanted to do._

He followed Kawakami to the class, mentally preparing himself for the introduction. _The teachers know my record but the students don't, so as long as I don't fuck this up I have a shot at making some friends this year._

"Settle down, settle down." Kawakami silenced the class as they walked in. "I'd like to introduce you to our new transfer student: Akira Kurusu. Today we had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well."

"My name's Akira Kurusu, it's nice to meet you all, I uh, look forward to being your classmate." Akira said awkwardly, feeling incredibly uncomfortable in front of the staring and unusually wide eyes of the class. The thing he hears next though sends his world crashing down.

 _"_ _He seems normal enough."_

 _"_ _Maybe but I bet he'll slug you if you look at him wrong."_

 _"_ _I hear he carries a knife on him…"_

 _"_ _Wait really?!"_

 _"_ _I mean he was arrested for assault… It's possible…"_

"Kurusu-kun!" Kawakami snapped Akira back to reality. "I said your seat is the open one over there." She pointed to a desk next to a window, and right behind a very familiar blond girl…

"Oh uh… oui Madame."

"What?"

"S-sorry, I meant yes Ms. Kawakami." Akira stormed over to his desk, cheeks suddenly turning red. _What the fuck was that?! Was that French or something?!_

"Liar…" The blond girl muttered under her breath, glancing over her shoulder at Akira. "You were outside the station earlier." She looked forward.

 _"_ _You think Takamaki-san and the transfer know each other?"_

 _"_ _Do you think he hit on her before?"_

 _"_ _This IS Takamaki-san we're talking about."_

 _"_ _What if Kurusu tries to fight Mr. Kamoshida because of her?!"_

 _"_ _That sounds like it'd be cool to watch! The big bad criminal gets his ass beat by Mr. Kamoshida!"_

Akira sunk in his seat, feeling like he got hit by a car. _Of course they'd know…_ He hid his eyes from the class with his hand and sank into his thoughts for the rest of the period.

When the bell rang Akira had never felt more relieved. "Kurusu-kun, may I speak with you for a minute?" Just like that the relief vanished without a trace as several students glared at him upon hearing Kawakami's request.

She started after the class had emptied. "I hear people are already talking about you. I just wanted you to know that I'm not the one who told them." She sighed. "God, why can't I catch a break," she pouted, "Why do I have to deal with this?"

Akira fought to ignore the surge of anger that came forth upon hearing her self centered words.

"Look, I just wanted to let you know that if it was leaked by staff, it wasn't by me, I mean, I don't even have that much pull compared to most teachers, makes sense?"

Nope, Akira's better judgment lost the fight against his mouth. "No, no," his voice dripped with sarcasm. "It makes perfect sense that when people are spreading false rumors about me that you have it bad for 'having to deal with it.'" At that Kawakami froze.

"I- I didn't mean…"

"I should be going. Sojiro-san is already going to be pissed at me." Akira caught himself and slipped his mask of calmness back on. "Have a nice day Ms. Kawakami." He bowed and walked away, leaving Kawakami thoroughly dazed.

Just as he went to walk down the stairs he ran into a familiar blond.

"Oh sweet." The blond pulled him to the side. "I was looking for you."

"What do you need?" Akira inquired.

"Come with me up to the roof, we need to talk about what happened." At that, Akira's eyes lit up.

Sakamoto swung the door to the rooftop open, revealing a few potted plants and desks, but not much else. Akira could say one thing at least; unlike the rest of the school it was quiet.

The blond sat in a desk, kicked his feet up, and looked at the black haired teen quizzically. "So… about what happened…" He took a deep breath. "WHAT THE EFF WAS THAT."

Akira replied deadpan. "Are you referring to the castle, the talking cat, the demon that popped out of me, or the fact that Kamoshida was wearing a pink Speedo?"

"All of it you jackass." Sakamoto let out a small laugh coupled with a shiver from remembering Kamoshida's appearance.

"It was an elementary case of paranormal magical bullshit my dear Watson."

"How are you acting so casual about all this?!"

"I've been dealing with stuff like this since I got to Tokyo, at this point I figure under reacting is better than over reacting." Akira sighed and sat down next to Sakamoto. "Anyways, if we're gonna be talking and shit I should probably know your name."

"Oh yeah, sorry, my name's Ryuji Sakamoto."

"Akira Kurusu, nice to meet you."

"But man you've gotta have like nerves of steel or somethin" Ryuji sighed, having flashbacks to the cell, thinking about how Akira hadn't run when given the chance. "Is that on account of…?"

"My charge? No." Akira interjected, suddenly not being very happy with the way the conversation was going.

"Sorry man, I didn't mean it like that." Ryuji frowned, "Look, no matter what happened you seem like a nice dude. Hell, you saved me back there." He gave an appreciative smile. "So uh, yeah, thanks Akira."

"Don't mention it." Akira waved him off. "The question is, if what the cat said is true, why is that how Kamoshida views the school?"

"He pretty much IS king of the school as is…" Ryuji sighed. "He's the coach of the Volleyball team, took em to nationals, the school practically worships the bastard." He paused. "Still… It's freaky how much he acknowledges it…"

"Well either way, best just to pretend it never happened for now yeah?" Ryuji stood up and stretched. "Sorry for wasting your time out here." He walked towards the door. "I feel like the two of us are going to get along just fine as trouble makers." He laughed and walked out, leaving Akira to standing on the roof, looking over the city around him.

 _Troublemakers huh…? That's a nice thought…_


End file.
